A year after flooding in eastern Libya killed thousands and razed entire neighbourhoods, reconstruction is allowing military strongman Khalifa Haftar to wield further power in the divided country, experts say.

On September 10, 2023, extreme rainfall from the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel caused two dams to burst in the coastal city of Derna, some 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

This led to flooding that killed nearly 4,000 people, left thousands missing and displaced more than 40,000 others, according to the United Nations.

A ceasefire agreement in Gaza, an anonymous US official told reporters, is 90 percent ready. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then swiftly called the assessment inaccurate. But within hours, Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that, indeed, 90 percent was done.

President Joe Biden's administration, with a little more than four months left in office, is dialing up its diplomacy for a Gaza deal and remaining publicly optimistic despite weeks of delays and serial setbacks.

Palestinian AFP photographer Mahmud Hams has won the prestigious Visa d'Or News prize for his coverage of the conflict in Gaza, the Visa pour l'Image Association announced Saturday.

The 44-year-old, who has worked for AFP in the Palestinian territory since 2003, thanked the jury for the award in a recorded video message aired at the ceremony in Perpignan, France.

In a statement issued by AFP, he denounced the targeting of journalists during the conflict.

Algeria's incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been re-elected with almost 95 percent of the vote, the country's electoral authority ANIE said Sunday.

More than 5.3 million people voted for Tebboune, accounting for "94.65 percent of the vote", ANIE head Mohamed Charfi told reporters.

Tebboune, 78, was heavily favoured to secure a five-year second term in the race against moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani, 57, who took 3.17 percent of the vote, and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche, 41, who won 2.16 percent.

Algerians began voting on Saturday in a presidential election in which incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, widely expected to secure a second term, is hoping for a high turnout.

The 78-year-old is heavily favoured to see off both challengers, moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche.

The streets of the capital Algiers were mostly quiet early on Saturday, with most voters expected to head to the polling stations from mid-day.

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza entered its 12th month Saturday with little sign of respite for the Palestinian territory or hope for Israeli hostages still held there.

The chances of a truce that would swap Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel for hostages held by Hamas appeared slim, with both sides sticking doggedly to their positions.

Hamas, whose October 7 attack on Israel sparked the war, is demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists troops must remain along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Algerians began voting on Saturday in a presidential election widely expected to bring a second term for the incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune who is hoping for a high turnout.

Tebboune, 78, is heavily favoured to see off moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0700 GMT) and are set to close at 7:00 pm.

Preliminary results could come as early as Saturday night, with the electoral authority, ANIE, bound to announce the official results on Sunday at the latest.

In a Dubai recording studio, hijab-clad Ghaliaa Chaker tunes her guitar and belts out original songs as she builds a career that is turning heads for more than just her music.

The 26-year-old Syrian, who was raised in the United Arab Emirates, has become a social media sensation, with 437,000 followers on Instagram and millions of views on her YouTube channel.

She offers not only a unique sound but also an unusual look in a region where artists who wear the hijab, the head covering characteristic of Muslim women, are few and far between.

A Pakistani man living in Canada has been arrested on charges of plotting to carry out an attack on Jews in New York City, the US Justice Department said Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested on Wednesday on charges filed in the United States, the department said.

"The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7 of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of (the Islamic State), as many Jewish people as possible," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Surging anti-Semitism since Hamas's October 7 attack sparked the war in Gaza recalls the run-up to World War II, with fear spreading through Jewish communities worldwide, top European and US envoys warned this week.

"We have seen a tsunami of anti-Semitism really rolling across Europe and the globe," said Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission's coordinator on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life.